Dimitrov, Taleski: Republican Senators should not side with Russia on Macedonia

WASHINGTON – In an opion piece published at The Hill, Nikola Dimitrov, former Macedonian ambassador to the United States and a distinguished fellow at the Hague Institute for Global Justice, and Dane Taleski, adjunct professor at the South East European University, both members of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG), call on Republican US Senators not to “side with Russia” on the Macedonian political crisis.

Reacting on the recent calls by the Republican Senators for the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to investigate the State Department’s alleged meddling in Macedonia party politics, the authors call on the Senators not to ask their ambassadors to be silent and to ask them to “speak up for the values for which America has always stood.”

According to Dimitrov and Taleski, the political struggle in Macedonia is not a battle between left and right, but “an epic battle to hold politicians to account”. The authors remind of the wiretapping scandal and other non-democratic practices of the VMRO-DPMNE government of Nikola Gruevski that triggered massive protests and the political crisis, as well the refusal of president Gjorje Ivanov to give the mandate for forming the government to opposition leader Zoran Zaev.

The authors claim that the United States have been “a beacon of hope, democracy, the rule of law and equal opportunities, regardless of whether the president was Republican or Democratic” and procaim their hope that it will remain at the heart of US leadership under President Trump.

European Western Balkans is a web portal that focuses on the WB countries and reports on development of the EU’s enlargement policy. The portal is launched in 2014 by the Centre for Contemporary Politics.

European Western Balkans is a web portal that focuses on the WB countries and reports on development of the EU’s enlargement policy. The portal is launched in 2014 by the Centre for Contemporary Politics.